• HOME
  • Bio
  • CLIENT LIST
  • WRITING SAMPLES
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT

Blog

The Smoking Gun

12/18/2012

11 Comments

 
I remember when a few deranged men went “postal” in the 1980s and subsequent years – a term coined to describe their former place of employment, which was the United States Postal Service. The results were a rash of shooting rampages, and it was a story I reported on for an audience of human resource executives who were reminded about the importance of maintaining good mental health across the workplace. My latest article on this topic published over the summer was about the release of a documentary called “Murder By Proxy: How America Went Postal.”

Those times now seem so quaint. 

There have been at least 16 shootings in the U.S. in 2012 alone that have garnered national attention, with atrocities committed in very public places such as a movie theater, shopping mall and elementary school.
 
What’s so deeply shocking to me about the Dec. 14, 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., is that as a father of two preschoolers and a teen-ager, I’m horrified that so many innocent children were gunned down. The other issue that hits close to home is I grew up  not far from this school in another typically small and seemingly safe New England town that was full of charm and love. 

Never in my wildest imagination would I have ever thought as a child of the 1960s and ’70s that anything like this would occur on a regular basis in my lifetime. 
 
Something is terribly wrong with our country that we all  have to worry about being gunned down or caught in the crossfire every time we leave the house. So what can be done to rid ourselves of this scourge?
 
For starters, we need to change our culture and thinking about firearms. Guns are a major part of American history. Without them, scores of Indian tribes would never have been killed or driven off their land and forced to live on reservations carved into the majestic landscape of this New World for European explorers and settlers. I'm not being facetious.

American citizens have a right to bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but I believe that the gun lobby in this country has simply become too politically powerful and influential. 
  
The time has come to put people ahead of profit by seriously restricting the sale of assault rifles and confiscating as many of
those weapons as possible that are still in circulation through various incentive programs. These high-powered firearms are tools for mass killing that should be restricted to the battlefield. They have no place in the hands of hunters or those who want to protect their homes and especially the mentally imbalanced people who end up perpetrating these shooting rampages that have
unnerved us all. 
 
We can do this. We did it with another scourge, smoking,  which has become so demonized in American culture since the U.S. Surgeon General’s report linking tobacco use to cancer that smokers have been forced outdoors for their smoke breaks. And in some cases, they can’t even smoke in public parks or beaches. Why can’t we apply the same rationale toward assault rifles? 
 
It would be a perfectly reasonable compromise with gun enthusiasts, who rightly believe that general gun-control efforts are just  too porous to keep weapons from criminals. At least this would be a step in the right direction. Otherwise, we’ll continue to pay far too high a price for the freedom to bear arms.
11 Comments
Bridgeport Dating Site link
10/6/2013 12:31:54 am

I created a weebly blog after seeing how simple it looked.

Reply
Guns for home defense link
10/17/2013 07:26:25 pm

I like your post on The smoking gun a tenure coined to recount their past arrange of work, which was the One Predicaments Postal Utility. The consequences were a heady of shooting binges

Reply
Alaskaarmsllc link
1/21/2014 09:13:38 pm

Hello friend .i read you comment related this blog this is nice.Useful details distributed by author on this web blog. I am very satisfied to study this articles.

Reply
Joseph L. Jones link
12/7/2015 09:55:14 pm

My latest article on this topic published over the summer was about the release of a documentary called “Murder By Proxy: How America Went Postal.”

Reply
gun safe link
12/24/2016 01:48:26 pm

Guns are primarily used by many gun owners to provide protection. Guns can be your safeguard when it comes to trouble and dangers that may threaten you or your family. Guns are also used to provide protection for properties. Guns can provide you the security against intruders, burglars and people with unlawful intentions. However, if guns are not used properly or if guns are not stored properly, they may cause danger and threats to the people you love most. Accidents caused by accidental firing of guns or when guns are played with by children can cause injuries and even deaths.

Reply
smoke shop vancouver link
3/9/2017 12:46:41 pm

You may have seen electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in stores, in advertisements, or being used. But e-cigarettes, while increasingly popular, are not harmless.

Reply
Vape Mod link
4/12/2017 12:24:03 am

"On this page we have gathered all information about vape mods, including reviews of the best mech and regulated vape mods.
"

Reply
Cigar Shop link
6/5/2017 02:32:03 pm

Cheap cigarettes from Europe are increasingly being imported into Northern America and especially into USA. If you look closely into typical cases of imports it becomes clearer to one and all that most of these are retail imports than bulk consignments of enterprise volumes.

Reply
Lowest Prices link
7/28/2017 09:03:18 am

EjuiceSteals provides the highest quality ingredients for making and mixing your own DIY e-liquid ore-juice.

Reply
best e liquids link
9/13/2017 05:22:49 am

Your guide to finding the best e-liquid on the market. No more bad tasting juice - we review budget-friendly premium e-juice!

Reply
best discreet vape link
9/3/2018 09:48:08 am

Free Shipping on Many Items! Shop from the world's largest selection and best deals for E Cigarettes, Vapes & Mods.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2023
    September 2022
    August 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    December 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    July 2011
    February 2011
    October 2010
    January 2010
    October 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    February 2009
    December 2008
    September 2008
    April 2008
    January 2008
    November 2007
    September 2007
    July 2007
    April 2007
    January 2007
    December 2006
    September 2006
    May 2006

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • HOME
  • Bio
  • CLIENT LIST
  • WRITING SAMPLES
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT